badabing8888 wrote:Not sure I see what you guys see in Smith. He certainly showed some progress but since when is a 16TD/16INT season a good season. He had ZERO 300 yard games, and in 11 of 17 games he was under 200 yards.

His QB rating was below 70 in half of his games including 5 below or at a 50 rating.

Hey, I also don't think he's gonna be the savior of the Niners, but he doesn't have to be. And I saw major improvement since his awful rookie season. Add to that that, other than Gore, the Niners offense sucked last year... Smith will be fine. The type of QB than won't win much by himself, but won't lose games either.

Also, what you say about Jackson is true, but you can't deny that he's a big improvement over what SF had at WR last year. And getting him for a 4th rounder was big. Add to that that Vernon will be healthy and the passing game should be greatly improved.

Still, I don't think it will be enough to win the NFC West, but they'll be better... and maybe (just maybe) will make the playoffs as a wildcards. Still a year away from being true contenders for the division, tho.

Certainly not hard to show improvement from quite possibly the worst quarterbacking season in the history of the league.

He is a smart kid and has some good athletic ability so not counting him out but he will need to improve dramatically. Certainly the worst QB in the division at this point in his career.

Everyone has no doubt closed the gap on the Seahawks. Should be a very interesting and contested division. The main edge for the Hawks is that they are virtually unbeatable at home. Nobody in the division has anywhere close to the home field advantage the Hawks do, although the 9ers DID win there last season.

By the same token, by virtue of being tucked in the Pacific Northwest by themselves, they lead the NFL in travel miles every year and their road play shows that.

Candy Morales hasn't caught many breaks. She was born to a prostitute hooked on drugs. She was handed to a stranger at 6 months. She was thrust into the foster care system at age 10 and took an office job at 14 to help support herself.

Sophia Herman handed out drinks to patients during a bingo game this month at Edgemoor Hospital in Santee. Herman, a Guardian Scholar, wants to be a nurse. Now Morales, 23, and nine other former foster youths will receive what is probably the biggest break of their lives – a full scholarship to San Diego State University, courtesy of the university and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, a Helix High School graduate who was the NFL's top draft pick in 2005.

Smith and SDSU have created the most comprehensive scholarship package ever issued on campus, university officials say – up to five years of tuition, year-round housing, meals, mentors, books, health services, living expenses, counselors, career guidance and tutoring.

The SDSU Guardian Scholars Program is expected to expand each year until it reaches 50 students annually. It is modeled after a program begun in 1997 at Cal State Fullerton to help former foster youths not only pay for college but complete it.

absolutely. I actually think there are a lot of players that do this sort of thing it just does not get reported. It is just not sensational enough for the media. They think it does not sell.

Last week I read about Ahman Green putting a downpayment on a house for a single mother raising an autistic child. I love hearing stories like this. These type of things should be promoted more because quite frankly, it makes me root for these players.

Yeah, I've noticed that many of the players that get less media attention do these things. I don't know if they're doing it to get their name known more which is stupid to consider since it's their agents that ask them to do so, but overall... it's great to hear these things.

There's the pros and cons of the NFL in terms of character. I love these stories, it's real inspiring to hear and read.

seriously, to all the alex smith haters, why dont you take a good look at the team he had around him his rookie season, one of the most depleted, least talented teams in a long time... now he has talent around him in the wr core, as well as an established running game, if he isn't damn close to a pro bowl type qb after '08, then the haters can come out..

"Losing is inevitably close to winning," Guber said. "They're inches apart. Drama. If you have drama, you've got a ticket to sell." "They're not real fans," Lacob said. "They don't have season tickets."

ChronicallyInclined wrote:seriously, to all the alex smith haters, why dont you take a good look at the team he had around him his rookie season, one of the most depleted, least talented teams in a long time... now he has talent around him in the wr core, as well as an established running game, if he isn't damn close to a pro bowl type qb after '08, then the haters can come out..

Exactly. People look at his stats and say he was terrible, not impressive. But he had Brandon Lloyd who was known for his circus catches because he could only make circus catches once in a game and then drop the easiest passes I've ever seen. He was missing Eric Johnson because he was out for the year so who was his top TE? Billy Bajema? Who that? Kevan Barlow could not become the top back and struggled. The o-line was injury depleted. Jennings was injured for more than half the season. He did not have Larry Allen. Harris was terrible like always.

Let's face it, you can't possibly say Alex was terrible his rookie season. He had no help, what so ever.

of course his team was bad in his rookie year. Any rookie QB who was drafted #1 overall that played in his rookie year had a bad team. Some worse than others for sure.

I agree it is too early to judge him. It is for any young QB. I think end of year 3 as a starter gives you a pretty good indication. There are QB's that started poorly that ended up great (John Elway) and guys that start great that end up sucking (Rick Mirer).

All I was stating was that he had statistically one of the worst seasons a QB has ever had in the league. That is a fact. Certainly does not mean I am a "hater". I like the guy...(or as much as I CAN like a Niner) and that is why I started the post on his charity work.

I think with his smarts and work ethic, he can be at LEAST a serviceable NFL QB.

And it's not as bad, but Frank Gore broke his hand. Nolan said he'll miss the preseason most likely. Hopefully it'll be healed up by the time the season comes around, he had about 6 fumbles or so last season. He got comfortable with the ball and finally stopped fumbling. But a broken hand can do a lot to a hand that once fumbled not too long ago.